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Battle of Yonkers
|} The''' '''Battle of Yonkers was the first major battle between the United States Armed Forces and the zombie horde. The battle took place at Yonkers, New York due to the fact that the area was a natural chokepoint that would funnel New York City's infestation into a kill zone. The battle was planned to restore hope and confidence in the Unied States government and military. However the battle was a complete disaster with the zombies completely overwhelming the soldiers. The results were broadcast over major news networks due to the large amount of press coverage, further undermining confidence in the government and contributing to the near collapse of the United States. Background Prior to the battle the true nature of Zombie outbreaks was kept secret from the general public, with infestations being dealt with by Special Forces groups known as Alpha Teams. The Alpha Teams were successful in containing small outbreaks but they were only meant to delay the full zombie outbreak until the regular military could be mobilized. However no politician was willing to do so as public support for the military was at a low due to various brushfire wars that had recently taking place. Compounding this was the belief that the situation was under control and that Phalanx was an effective vaccine against Solanum. However it was eventually revealed the Phalanx did nothing against zombie bites and the true nature behind the zombie outbreak. This lead to a widespread period of chaos and confusion known as the Great Panic. Cities began to become overwhelmed by zombies and the military was eventually mobilized to set up an engagement that would defeat the zombies and restore confidence. Prelude The majority of the soldiers were deployed along the Saw Mill River Parkway in Yonkers due to the fact that it served as natural chokepoint. This would prove to be the only intelligent tactical decision that was made that day. The rest of the preparations were inadequate against zombies due to the leadership focusing on aesthetics over function. Foxholes, barriers, and tank emplacements were set up despite the fact that Zombies do not use weapons. The setting of such defensive emplacements tired out many of the soldiers, as the summer was one of the hottest on record, and many of whom were also forced to wear heavy MOPP gear even though it was already common knowledge that Solanum was not airborne. Many of the soldiers were not given sufficient ammunition as it was believed that tanks and artillery would destroy the majority of the horde. All of these factors meant that the soldiers were tired and ill-equipped for a prolonged battle against a zombie horde. Battle When the first of the Zombies appeared a MRL barrage was used and took out about 75% of them. All of the zombies were hit but those that were not hit in the head were still able to crawl forward. As more zombies approached the rockets lost effectiveness as the dense grouping prevented many of the rounds from destroying the head. Artillery was used next but they had less effect than the MRLs as they relied upon causing the liquid in the human body to burst. The coagulated fluids in a zombie did not react the same way as a living human would. In addition the lack of a functioning nervous system prevented Sudden Nerve Trauma from killing them as well. When it was clear the artillery was not effective enough the tanks, Humvees, mortars, and helicopters began to open fire on the horde. This slowed down the zombie horde but they quickly ran out of ammunition, forcing the soldiers to finally engage in combat. The soldiers were not expected to see heavy combat and had been trained to fire at the torso for their entire careers, making it difficult to switch to headshots. Despite these disadvantages the soldiers fought hard to maintain their positions and were initially able to hold of the horde. However their morale began to plummet due to to satellites broadcasting the full size of the zombie horde, which was the bulk of New York's infestation and numbered in the millions. An airstrike was launched with destroyed a large amount of the zombies but still left thousands standing. In addition there were millions pouring in from New York that the air strike did not reach. This caused the military's line to finally break and they began to retreat in a disorderly fashion. In desperation a thermobaric weapon was detonated to cover the retreat. This allowed for the remainder of the military to retreat but failed to kill a significant portion of the zombie horde. Aftermath The battle was a complete disaster for the United States government. Instead of being the battle that would restore the hope of the American public it demonstrated that the zombies had the clear advantage and could prevail against a modern high-tech military. The United States was forced to retreat and leave everything east of the Rocky Mountains, re-establishing itself on the western half of the country with the capital now at Honolulu. A significant amount of civilians were left behind to fend for themselves when the government pulled out and many fled to the wilderness in Canada, where millions perished from the harsh conditions due to lack of knowledge and preparation. The United States military was completely restructured in the wake of the battle. Modern day weapons and vehicles would be removed from the arsenal and replaced with specialized anti-zombie ones, which would greatly increase their effectiveness in future battles.